US Teams Up With Japan to Spy on China With Global Hawk Drones

131003-D-BW835-1320

The U.S. has just announced a deal with Japan that will allow basing rights for surveillance drones. Oh and the Pentagon swears their purpose is to surveil North Korea. Really, they promise. China? What’s a China?

“The primary mission for the Global Hawks will be to fly near North Korea, where U.S. officials hope they will greatly enhance the current spying capabilities,” reports the Washington Post. Maybe – perhaps – an unintended side benefit to the drone missions will be to coordinate with Japan on ” the movements of Chinese ships in the vicinity.”

You can bet Beijing won’t see North Korea as the primary target for the U.S. spy drones. In recent weeks, the Japanese Defense Ministry has indicated a strong interest in obtaining drones for themselves in order to spy on and respond to Chinese military movements in and around the disputed maritime territory of the Senkaku/Diayou islands, currently the most intense point of tension between Japan and China.

Immediately following these indications, Secretary of State John Kerry and Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel visit with their Japanese counterparts and secure a deal to allow the U.S. to base its own drones on Japanese territory and take care Japanese defense for them. It’s a win for the U.S. in that it mitigates the Japanese desire to obtain its own drones, a privileged capability that gives the U.S. an edge, and it maintains U.S. military autonomy in Japan at a time when tensions with China have influenced Tokyo towards beefing up its long-dormant national security state.

But it’s not exactly a win for regional security. The U.S. has been antagonizing China by militarily encircling the rising Asian power and reaffirming defense agreements with all of China’s neighboring rivals, Japan foremost among them. A new scheme to increase spying on Chinese military movements in its own backyard is not going to go over well with Beijing.

“The presence of Global Hawks in East Asia is sure to irritate China, which has become increasingly vocal in pushing back against the U.S. military presence in the region,” the  Washington Post reports. “Officials in Beijing had criticized Tokyo in recent days for reports that the Japanese military was considering acquiring its own Global Hawks, saying the introduction of the drones could escalate tensions.”

U.S. policy could easily exacerbate Sino-Japanese tensions and prompt a very dangerous escalation. “My biggest fear is that a small mishap is going to blow up into something much bigger,” says Elizabeth C. Economy of the Council on Foreign Relations.

“If there is a use of force between Japan and China,” warns Sheila A. Smith, also of CFR, “this could be all-out conflict between these two Asian giants. And as a treaty ally of Japan, it will automatically involve the United States.”

And for what? To contain China’s increasing global power? The U.S. can’t stop that train, which is fueled by their growing economy and increased defense budgets, short of all-out war.

Really, the U.S. should just mind its own business instead of trying to dictate China’s behavior in a desperate attempt to hold on to world hegemony.

Micah Zenko, a fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, provides the following anecdote to sum up the hypcritical U.S. position on China:

Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel declared at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore earlier this year, “The United States stands firmly against any coercive attempts to alter the status quo.” Similarly, Hagel’s deputy, Ashton Carter, noted in reference to the Asia-Pacific, “We oppose provocation. We oppose coercion. We oppose the use of force,” adding a U.S. preference for “peaceful resolution of disputes in a manner consistent with international law.” Of course, resorting to coercion and the use of force to change the status quo are defining characteristics of U.S. foreign policy, and — as the reactions to Syria demonstrate — they are widely embraced among pundits and officials. The defining questions of East Asian relations in the coming decades is whether China emulates the U.S. military by embracing coercion, or follows U.S. guidelines as to how local disputes should be resolved.

Do as we say, not as we do. Follow our orders, or prepare for aggression.

Not exactly a constructive approach.

Update: In a piece entitled “New U.S. Drone Base is America’s Latest Move to Contain China,” John Reed at Foreign Policy says “the bottom line is that the U.S. is prepositioning forces around China.” He also details some of the other military assets, in addition to the drones, that America is encircling China with:

The Global Hawks will be joined in Japan by two squadrons of U.S. Marine Corps MV-22 Osprey tiltrotors. An MV-22 can haul a couple dozen Marines over long distances at airplane speeds with the ability to take off and land vertically like a helicopter. Needless to say, these craft could be very useful in responding to emergencies in the Pacific, where American defense officials often lament “the tyranny of distance.”

The Marines will also station F-35B Joint Strike Fighters in Japan starting in 2017, officials announced. The Marines are following the U.S. Air Force’s lead by positioning the stealth fighters in Japan. The air service announced last year that the first overseas bases for its fleet of F-35As will be in Japan. In addition to the American F-35 squadrons, the Japanese, Australian and possibly Singaporean air forces will all fly the Joint Strike Fighter, ringing China’s southeast flank with the stealth jets.

It’s worth pointing out that the U.S. Navy will base some of its brand new P-8 Poseidon submarine and ship hunting jets in Japan starting in December. The P-8 is navalized version of Boeing’s 737 airliner equipped with sonar gear, powerful radars, torpedos and even Harpoon anti-ship missiles.

There is plenty more here. Reed also offers this map of “the sites the U.S. is considering rotating its forces in-and-out of in the Pacific.”

55 thoughts on “US Teams Up With Japan to Spy on China With Global Hawk Drones”

  1. Pingback: US, Japan Drone Agreement Brings Enhanced Surveillance Amongst 'Pacific Pivot'
  2. Pingback: Likely to Foment Regional Tension, US Drones Headed to Japan

  3. The US government might not want to tick off China too much–it might cause them to jack up prices at Wal-Mart considerably. Where then will American lemmings go to buy all the crap they don't need?

    1. Werner-are you saying that the shoes, pants,shirts and clothes you are fully dressed in crap?

    2. They could go to the union goon stores like Meijers, Krogers or Costco for the same products.

      1. Meijers is not a union store. I don't know about the other two. Unions want you to boycott any non union store.

  4. The Global Hawks will be joined in Japan by two squadrons of U.S. Marine Corps MV-22 Osprey tiltrotors. An MV-22 can haul a couple dozen Marines over long distances at airplane speeds with the ability to take off and land vertically like a helicopter. Needless to say, these craft could be very useful in responding to emergencies in the Pacific, where American defense officials often lament “the tyranny of distance.”

  5. The US is a wounded grizzly bear who recognize that its power is slipping a away economically and militarily, so its only alternative is to lash out at other countries.

  6. About time China for China to befriend Cuba with military hardware, bases and personel.

  7. A bit like Alexian Lien getting surrounded by a gang of motorcyclists, who are just out there "minding their own business", sharing and enjoying their "freedom" and "values", and "making the road safe" for their friends. Let's just hope that Japan won't be emboldened by all these new toys and buddies to "brake check" Chinese resolve.

  8. All we have to do is abrogate the Defense Treaty with Japan and withdraw all military forces from Japan. That's what we did with the 1954 Mutual Defense Treaty with Taiwan, in 1979. We would still maintain diplomatic relations with Japan, though, unlike the way we treated Taiwan, in that regard.

    1. *Germany gave up 24 percent of its traditional territory to these two countries, the two biggest victims.* http://www.japanfocus.org/-Karasaki-Taro/1794

      *Japan’s intransigence about far-flung territorial claims is particularly hard to fathom given its undisputed role as aggressor nation, aligned with Nazi Germany.

      It invaded nearly all of its neighbors, left millions dead and committed unspeakable war crimes in China, Korea and Southeast Asia. Is it not a bit unseemly for Japan to be tussling over territory that it once used as a springboard to terrorize its neighbors?* http://www.globalresearch.ca/asia-u-s-tries-to-dr…

      1. its not *a bit unseemly*, its downright outrageous !
        diaoyu was a war booty taken from china , it was supposed to be returned to china after the japense defeat in ww2, but the ever so nefarious uncle sham gave it to japan as *administrator*. thus setting a booby trap to be sprung at their convenience. http://www.countercurrents.org/muzaffar170912.htm

        the socalled asia pivot is all about springing the booby traps in ecs n scs to corner china. http://original.antiwar.com/john-v-walsh/2013/02/… http://www.4thmedia.org/2012/09/05/the-18th-cpc-c…

  11. Pingback: Another Week in the Ecological Crisis, October 6, 2013 – A Few Things Ill Considered
  12. Pingback: US Military Planning to Use Drone Surveillance Over North Korea | Top Secret Writers
  13. Pingback: USA, AN EYE ON YOU: US Military Planning to Use Drone Surveillance Over North Korea | Chainsoff's Blog

  16. Ron and Rand Paul are increasingly the subject of ridicule and marginalization from mainstream politicos. This is especially true among the left, which apparently sees the escalating libertarian bent on the right as a threat to the Democratic Party’s electoral

  17. Ron and Rand Paul are increasingly the subject of ridicule and marginalization from mainstream politicos. This is especially true among the left, which apparently sees the escalating libertarian bent on the right as a threat to the Democratic Partya??s electoral

  18. Thanks this web site is really a walk-through for all of the info you wanted about this and didn’t know who to ask. Glimpse here, and you’ll definitely…rebelmouse

  24. I really like the dear information you offer in your articles. I'm able to bookmark your site and show the kids check out up here generally. Im fairly positive theyre likely to be informed a great deal of new stuff here than anyone else! manual backlinks

  25. Positive site, where did u come up with the information on this posting? I'm pleased I discovered it though, ill be checking back soon to find out what additional posts you include… Buy Blog comments Thanks this web site is really a walk-through for all of the info you wanted about this and didn’t know who to ask. Glimpse here, and you’ll definitely. buy Pinterest followers

  26. For choosing or picking out the niche, users need to do exploration or groundwork and learn where the hunger is and for sourcing product they need to know that they are solely the supervisor or director, they have to work directly with the manufacturer. buy real instagram followers and likes According to Shakespeare if anyone do lies to you then it is not absolutely his fault but it is you fault that you did not give enough space to that person that he used to make lie with you. So such kind of phrases and quotation we need to teach our students in term of education in order to motivate them. xarelto lawsuit help I seriously liked this type of discharge. It truly is really incredible. The particular duplicate copy writer may very well be genuinely qualified… IVC Filter Migration lawyer Your mode of telling all in this paragraph is genuinely pleasant, all be capable of without difficulty understand it <a href="http://,http://www.beartarot.com/psychic/free-tarot-tops-sites-get-tarot-online-free/” target=”_blank”> <a href="http://,http://www.beartarot.com/psychic/free-tarot-tops-sites-get-tarot-online-free/” target=”_blank”>,http://www.beartarot.com/psychic/free-tarot-tops-sites-get-tarot-online-free/ Wow, nice post,there are a lot of person searching about The item right now they can find enough resources from your post. natural herbal remedies Its a great pleasure reading your post.Its full of information I am looking for and I love to post a comment that "The content of your post is awesome" Great work. coconut oil pulling by ProtecCozumel.com

  34. According to Shakespeare if anyone do lies to you then it is not absolutely his fault but it is you fault that you did not give enough space to that person that he used to make lie with you. So such kind of phrases and quotation we need to teach our students in term of education in order to motivate them. xarelto lawsuit help

  35. According to Shakespeare if anyone do lies to you then it is not absolutely his fault but it is you fault that you did not give enough space to that person that he used to make lie with you. So such kind of phrases and quotation we need to teach our students in term of education in order to motivate them. xarelto lawsuit help

  46. I have feel that this blog is really have all those quality that qualify a blog to be a one.I wanted to leave a little comment to support you and wish you a good continuation. ice age village hack

  49. JELASPOKER BANDAR DOMINO ONLINE INDONESIA

    Buruan Bergabung bersama kami di JELASPOKER

    Minimal Deposit dan Withdraw JELASPOKER hanya Rp.20.000,-
    Bonus REFERAL 20%, (Seumur Hidup)
    Bonus CASHBACK 0.3%.
    Bonus CASHBACK 0.5%

    JELASPOKER menyediakan 6 permainan Judi Terbaik, yakni :
    POKER – DOMINOQQ – CAPSA SUSUN – BANDAR POKER – ADUQ – BANDARQ

Comments are closed.

viewpoint highlights
breaking news
© 2024 Antiwar.com. All rights reserved.
Antiwar.com Blog Stock Photos provided by our partner Depositphotos